In The Moonlight
by Say You Wont Care
Summary: Liam Martin, forced to move from Beacon Hills to Mystic Falls, finds himself for the first time feeling like he belongs as his Freshmen year begins. Paired with his best friend Caroline and Bonnie, he feels as though he can take on the world. The only thing hold him back? A secret love for someone he knows that he can never have. -Dedicated and written for my Riley Boo
1. In The Moonlight

In The Moonlight

: _a Tyam Story_

"Not everyone thinks Tyler Lockwood is hot." I called to Caroline.

She knew all too well that I was lying through my teeth, her bouncing blonde curls tossed over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.

"Mhm, Liam, sure."

Caroline Forbes had been my best friend since I was tragically forced to move to Mystic Falls, Virginia what seemed like a lifetime ago. After the Hale House fire had spooked my mother, she had gathered me up and moved us clean across the country and settled here. As I was forbidden to even contact my sister back home the last few years would have been excruciating with her and Bonnie Bennett.

In fact, I had become so close to the girls that I was able to tell them my greatest secret...

Well, my second greatest secret.

As I came over of the closet in what was a surprise to no one really, they made is easy, accepting me and supporting me even as I came out to the entire school. I had never been one to hide the fact, but there was still power in giving it voice and the pair had been a crucial in my path towards living out and proud.

If only being a witch could have been confessed so easily.

The years of keeping my crush a secret were gone. Whispered to the girls in private, I mooned over none other than Tyler Lockwood, telling them of the crush I had basically carried since the first day I lay eyes on him years ago. Never had I found myself so drawn to someone, not even my hometown crush of Scott McCall. When Tyler smiled my stomach was filled with butterflies and on the rare occasion that we spoke over the years I had found myself a bashful mess.

Anyone who knew me could tell you that was way out of character.

Here we were on the first day of Freshmen year and Caroline, a sophomore, was already teasing me as Tyler stood off in the distance. Standing with his best friend, Matt Donovan, the pair physically looked like night and day but it was a shock to no one that girls flocked to them... even if Matt was taken. My eyes saw nothing but Tyler, though.

He ran his fingers through his dark locks, his smouldering eyes trained on a cheerleader I vaguely recognize and I pursed my lips. Caroline gripped me by my jacket and tugged me along, but with one final look over in their direction I feigned a sneeze. Abruptly, as my intentions were made manifest by my magic, the girl fumbled with her coffee (no doubt something pumpkin spiced) 'accidentally' spilling it all down her front.

Oops.

"Bless you." Caroline said, looking at me with concern.

Thanking her, I waved off her concern as we continued toward the front doors of Mystic Falls High.

"You're not getting sick are you? You know I need you for the competition routine and I can't rework it."

It was my turn not to roll my eyes, waving her worries away yet again, "You're being dramatic, Care. Cheer competition is months away."

"Yes," she qualified with that expression that let me know there was a 'but' coming, "But we will be one of the only squads with a guy on the team and I need you at every practice until then so that you will be in peak form."

I couldnt help but laugh. This was just how Caroline was, a control freak no doubt, but for good reason.

Looking over my shoulder as Caroline and I entered the school, I spotted Tyler offering the girl a napkin with a wary expression as he and Matt suddenly seemed to make an excuse to leave the fretting girl. I should have felt bad, but what was the good in being a witch if I couldn't have a little fun with the competition.

As if I, myself, even had a chance.

Meeting up with Bonnie, the three of us walked together to our lockers and began putting some of our things away. It was the first day and already Caroline was making plans about dances and future events as Bonnie and I dutifully listened with barely contained amusement.

I honestly had missed it because having to go through my 8th grade year without the girls had been a challenge. It was different being the new guy in a town, something I had never had to do back home, and they had been two of the only people to make me feel welcome without question. Even now there were not that many people in my grade or below that I had bonded with aside from maybe Jeremy Gilbert, who was a bit of a golden boy goody two shoes which made it really hard to relate to him… that and I couldn't stand his sister.

Elena Gilbert was the bane of my existence. For one, she always seemed to one up Caroline without any concern for the feelings of her so called friend, and for another she completely took Matt for granted. Everyone seemed to give the girl a pass on everything she did, like they had all drank the same kool-aid in the 'Elena is a good girl' cult. I just saw her for what she was and that was a self involved bitch.

Excuse my French.

Regardless of all of that, I was happy to be here in my first year of high school and reunited with my best friends. Even if I missed my sister and best friend Derek back home it was easy to forget a little of the heartache when they were near. It was easy to fall into their infectious laughter and let go a little bit.

All in all Mystic Falls was not a bad place to be. The town had been founded by supernaturals and was a heaven of sorts for them, though the mortals of the town seemed to have long forgotten. That was what made the town such a nice place to live, or so my mother said.

The Lockwood's had long forgotten that they were from a line of werewolves. The Bennett's all attributed Grams' ramblings about witchcraft to the nonsense of a eccentric old woman. Even the Salvatore's, or what was left of them, seemed to have forgotten the old tales of the doomed brother's who had once caused this town to implode with it's very own version of Salem.

My mother, however, had not forgotten any of it.

Dutifully, like the rich, socialite, elitist witch that she was, she gossiped about every single one of their histories. I knew the power hidden within Bonnie, I knew the horror stories around the Salvatore Boarding House, but none of it vexed me the way that the curse above Tyler's head did.

One mistake, one wrong move and he would be forced to turn into a wolf and lose control of himself… a much different curse than the one that I was used to back in Beacon Hills.

I wanted to tell him, to warn him, but how could I? He was the mayor's son, popular and with all the right friends. He had everything going for him in a world that was not plagued by the supernatural horrors I had seen.

Me? To him I couldn't have seemed more than the token new guy who was now the token gay attached to the popular girl's hip. Had he ever been unkind to me? No. The few times we had talked it had been pleasant enough… well, if I could have opened my damn mouth to speak a proper sentence it would have been better, but I digress.

I didn't stand a chance of getting a guy like Tyler to believe me about the potential curse, let alone be interested in me romantically. I suffered no delusions of that, but this year I hoped to at least be his friend. That at least would have been nice. Much better than me forgetting how my tongue worked and just clamming up like a mute.

So embarrassing.

The first day over and done, I found myself leaving cheerleading practice a little more annoyed than I should have been. The entire practice I had spent biting my tongue as Caroline and Elena 'disagreed' (which was just a polite way of saying argued) over the steps in our routine, and by the end of it I was glad to be done. Walking together with Bonnie and Caroline it was no surprise as I found my eyes lingering on the football players in the distance upon the green field.

Eyes searched the sea of clashing figures as they ran plays, but I was really just looking for one in particular.

"Looking for your beau?" Caroline teased.

I shook my head, giving her a quick glance but she only laughed.

"You don't have to lie to me, Liam Martin."

I stammered and hugged my books to my chest feeling flustered.

Sure I had talked to them freely about Tyler in the past, but I felt like talking about it here with him so close was risky. For all the finer qualities of this small Virgina town it was still a small town and all that it took was one person overhearing Caroline for it to turn into wildfire gossip.

Bonnie saved me, bless her, "Caroline, leave him be. His ears are turning red."

She wasn't lying.

Caroline sighed as Bonnie stepped on her good time, pouting. Suddenly, she stopped and a light began to dance in her eyes as glanced from me, to the boys and then back again.

"Uh oh." Bonnie and I said in unison.

Pouting again instantly, she stomped and put her hands on her hips, "Oh, you guys are both no fun. I haven't even told you my idea yet."

"And we already know it is a scheme." I said, laughing.

"And we will have to do something neither of us want to do." Bonnie added.

She looked from one to the other with the look of a petulant child.

"At least hear me out?"

My baby blue eyes swept to meet Bonnie's gaze and we both sighed. There was really no point in denying her because at the end of the day Caroline Forbes gets what she wants and when she got what she wanted she was happy and we liked it when she was happy.

We both conceded defeat, "Fine."

She squealed and clapped her hands in excitement, "Okay, leave it all up to me, but don't the two of you dare make plans for the weekend until I tell you."

For the next few days I waited anxiously for her little scheme to unfold but each day I would ask her and each day she would tell me to wait. When Friday finally dawned on us I thought that surely whatever she had cooked up had fallen through but as the afternoon neared and I made my way to lunch I quickly found everyone buzzing about something. There was not a single doubt in my mind this was Caroline's doing.

Making my way through the mass of students, I walked with my tray of food to the table we normally sat at. Caroline was flitting about the room, slipping slips of paper into the hands of whoever she deemed worthy and looking gleeful in the act. I took my seat next to Bonnie, looking around at the circle of familiar faces to see if maybe one of them knew what was happening. Tyler, Matt, Elena, and Bonnie's eyes all seemed focused on a flier and soon I was passed one of my own.

It read as follows:

"Lockwood Lock-in Camping Trip.

All cheerleaders and football player attendance is mandatory.

Check in Friday night AFTER the game.

Check out Sunday morning

Bring your sleeping bags and campfire songs to the Lockwood Estate.

No Alcohol, just good clean fun."

Internally I was already letting out a groan as my eyes finished scanning the paper.

Looking up once more to see if anyone was as appalled as I was, but to my dismay all of them, even Tyler, seemed pleasantly amused.

He looked up as I gazed upon his handsome features and my heart did that jumping somersault thing that it did every single time he acknowledged my existence. He smiled with cool confidence, vaguely amused by something that I was not privy to and I felt like I was melting into my chair.

"Did you know about this whole deal?" I asked.

This was a step up from the stupid that came out of my mouth usually in his presence, which was definitely progress.

He laughed and shook his head, "Nah, but I am guessing Miss Mystic Falls worked the whole thing out with my mom or dad."

"Mom." Caroline said, appearing out of nowhere and taking the seat on the other side of me and thankfully separating me from Elena. "Mrs. Lockwood thought it would be a fantastic bonding experience for us and a great way from keeping Tyler from drinking and shacking up with some girl."

"Pfft, like that will stop him." Matt snorted, "This is just easy access."

Tyler side eyed him with that cocky smile and a part of me gave a dreamy sigh. Thank the lord no one at this table could hear my inner monologue.

"You know I'm breaking this 'no alcohol' rule, right?" He said, leaning forward and waving the flier at her as he continued to smirk at her.

She pretended to be innocent, "I have no idea what you mean."

Looking between the two of them I already knew that either one of them or both were already plotting to get kegs and whatever else we might need. Hell if Caroline had not secretly planned to have kegs there I would have been shocked. This was sure to be a weekend that I would remember. One way or the other.

I should have been happy about this because it meant not havin to go home to my mother and deal with her madness. Things were... complicated. Being a witch made everything complicated and as none of them knew my secret sleep overs could be hard. I couldn't exactly explain away random levitating in my sleep to them, now could I?

My mother had not been happy when I told her of my plans. Not for normal mother reasons, of course, but because she had planned an entire weekend of witch studies to help my powers along in their growth. She longed for the day when I would become powerful enough for her to use me for her own personal gain… but that was another story entirely. One that would take too much of your time to dig into right here and now.

As the day wore on into night, it was, as fate would have it, a great night for Caroline's even. The stars were bright in the cloudless sky and the full moon hung like a gem amongst them. Even the weather was agreeable; still warm enough that everyone could the lake on the Lockwood grounds. What was even more lucky was that the Mystic Falls Varsity team won the game and as a result everyone was amped up and ready to celebrate.

As Sheriff Forbes dropped myself, Caroline and Bonnie off, I was stopped as the girls went along to the tents we had set up before the game. Already the bonfire could be seen dancing in the distant gloom of the woods and if you listened hard enough you could hear the laughter of the partygoers.

"Liam, watch out for my girl, yeah?" She asked, her brows knitting as she watched Caroline laughing and vanishing into the brush with Bonnie.

For a moment I wondered what it was like to have a mom that cared that much; like really cared about your well being. It must have been a nice feeling to know that someone cared that much, to be secure in that feeling of love and support no matter what you did.

"Yes ma'am." I said finally, nodding politely.

"You're one of the good ones." The sheriff smiled fondly.

With a wink the woman put her cruiser back into gear and was off.

Even now, at the entrance to the Lockwood Estate, I could hear the base from the music pumping through the night air. I knew for a fact there would be more than just the team here tonight, but that was not my worry. My worry was that I would slip up somehow, someway.

Take your pick on my meaning because I was worried about both.

Being a witch was just as dangerous a truth as being in love with the straightest guy in Mystic Falls. Both of them were secrets I guarded highly.

As I made my way from the drive that lead to the large house in the distance, I looked to it and wondered if Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood were home. They had always seemed very laid back on the outside, but I knew a little more than I should have on that front.

The gleaming windows were warm with the light within, but I knew the whispered stories of the controlling nature of the Mayor. I had heard Matt and Tyler themselves whispering more than a few times about things dealing with Tyler's father but it was never my place to say or do anything as much as I would have liked to.

To everyone at school Tyler was the player. He was confident, blunt, and a bit rude, which made him a bit like the male version of Caroline. He carried himself with the swagger of the male who had the key to the city… but his eyes told that there was so much more to him than the party boy persona that he had donned since starting high school.

Even though I knew all of this there was still a layer of Tyler that had always been untouchable to me and I guess everyone else for that matter. He had things that he hid and I was not one to begrudge him that because that would have made me a hypocrite. I had too many secrets of my own, and as I was not the friend to him that Matt was it was not my place to pry for these secrets.

It wasn't hard to find my way to the spot that the girls and I had put up our tents; one for me and one for them. This spot was in fact the very place that we always designated to meet up should we lose each other at a party or something go wrong… until we got our cell phone, that was. But this was still our spot nonetheless.

I could hear the girls giggling in their own tent, no doubt getting changed from their cheerleading uniforms. Climbing into my own, I rid myself of the uniform, pulling on a pair of tan shorts, black flip flops, and a deep cutting, loose white muscle shirt.

"This is what normal kids do." I whispered to myself.

But I was not normal, the voice in my head whispered back.

As a child the only sleepovers I had been allowed to have had been with my sister or Derek Hale. While Derek was in the know of my true nature, as was his family, my sister was not, but back then my powers were not as strong as they had become lately.

Every year they seemed to grow a little more, and every year I tried to force them a little deeper down inside of me as if by doing so I could deny their existence. My mother wanted me to be this powerful witch. She wanted to exploit the power and use it to attain what she thought was her proper place in the world but all I wanted to do was live a normal life with my friends.

"Liam, you coming?" Bonnie called just outside my tent.

Smoothing myself over, I unzipped the door and climbed out with a smile to the girls that waited just on the other side. Bonnie offered me her hand and I took it and the three of us walked hand in hand. Emerging from the woods we saw clearly now the roaring bonfire and all the students gathered around it. Some danced, some sat and talked, and some were lined up at the keg, ready to get their drink on.

Honestly it was hard not to feel the infectious exuberance that was wafting off of the crowd. I felt myself worrying a little less as Bonnie and I grinned at Caroline. She had thrown this all together in a matter of days like it was nothing. The girl had a gift and there was no denying that.

She lead us over to the keg, getting herself and the two of us solo cups and filling them with the frothing beer. Taking a sip, I made a little bit of a face as the taste hit my tongue. Yes, this was my first beer. Don't be so judgy.

With a glance over to Bonnie I laughed as I noticed that she was making the very same face. Caroline, the seasoned pro of parties that she was, drank the beer as if it were nothing while she scanned the line of faces. She was on the hunt.

Bonnie and I soldiered up, drinking from our cups and soon finding that the taste wasn't as bad as the first sip. Maybe that was the buzz talking, but regardless, the more I drank the less the taste bothered me.

Being a whole what of one hundred and fifteen pounds I was filling it.

Again, don't be so judgy.

Pulled into a game of beer pong with some of the upper class meat heads on the team, Caroline, Bonnie and I were getting into the swing of the party. Even Matt and Elena seemed to have forgone their usual fighting and were having a good time with everyone else.

The music kept to the tempo of the party, swaying our moods and keeping us on a continuous high of youthful decadence. The teens around me danced, laughing and having the time of our lives like nothing else in the world mattered, and for a few moments I really did feel like a normal teen.

I was here with my friends and I was accepted. I belonged here.

As Caroline began to flirt with one of the jocks that had played us in beer pong, Bonnie and I decided to wingman for her and distract the other two. Did I use a little magic to speed the process along? You bet your ass. It was a sloppy spell that I sent out, but it quickly had the boys going off to bother anyone else once it became clear that they were both vying for rights to spend the night with the ebony goddess at my side.

Bonnie was not like most girls. Not that there was anything wrong with how the other girls were, but Bonnie was quite like me in that she was perfectly happy to spend the night with me, or Elena, or Caroline. She never needed to end the night with a guy which always made me feel less lonely since this being a small town meant that I was not likely to end the night with a guy even if I wanted that.

As the party wore on more and more of the dancing happy faces slipped off into places unknown. Even Bonnie tucked in for the night after I escorted her stumbling and laughing to her tent. Neither of us were surprised that Caroline was not to be seen in the tent or otherwise and we laughed as we parted and I went to go check on her.

I had made a promise, after all.

In the distance I heard that not even the good vibes of the night had kept Elena and Matt from their usual fight after all was said and done. Hoping to avoid that as Elena would not like what I had to say, I moved quickly towards the fire and away from their whisper shouting. Those two were exhausting together. Matt deserved better.

The fire was dancing lower as the logs became but kindling in the circle and like the fire the crowd had grown just as small. In exchange for the music that had been thrumming through the speakers was now a guitar held by some artsy guy no doubt as he crooned out tunes to the girls who surrounded him.

I had just stepped into the light of the fire as I found my quarry. Caroline was grinning like the vixen she was, dragging the brawny hunk off in the direction of the woods and looking unapologetic in doing so. I admired her, honestly. The girl knew what she wanted and how to get it and from the look on that guy's face he was shook by the fact. It was amusing. She would be fine.

Watching them fade into the dark, I had been about to return to my tent for the night when I saw a familiar head of dark, messy hair off in the distance. Admittedly Tyler had not been very present most of the night… at least not around me, but now when I saw him my heart sank low as a jolt of realization saw him with a girl.

Which girl? Well, none other than the one I had jinxed earlier that week.

She was wrapped around him like leather jeans on a 80's hair band rocker. Tyler pressed her against a tree, his hands exploring her form as she gripped at his hair and kissed him with a passion and display of affection like no other in sight.

I imagined for a minute that it was me there with him and my heart sank a little lower. Maybe it was the alcohol, of which I would like to put full blame on, but I felt tears quickly whelming up in my eyes. I was jealous. Horribly jealous, and it hurt to see that and know that it could never be me.

Quickly, before anyone could spot me, I bolted off towards the lake as a single set of tears stung my cheeks. It wasn't fair, seeing him like that with someone else… but it was also unfair of me to begrudge him that feeling of closeness with another. I couldn't be mad at him for something that he didn't know and likely would not reciprocate.

But irrationally I was mad at him.

I was mad at myself.

Mad at the world.

This was one time that I had to say that being drunk was the worst. My emotions felt so much more raw with my inhibitions so low. I wanted to make a scene, to throw a fit, to let Tyler know that he should be with me… but that was not what I did. Instead I stood at the edge of the lake and watched the way that the moon danced on its surface.

For all of my gifts supernaturally it was this one that was I was thankful for.

The more that I watched the rocking of the waves the more control I felt over my emotions. I was able to, little by little, talk sense to myself. Tyler had a right to live his life and steal every happy moment he could. The pettiness inside me would not be allowed to hold anything against him like this. He suffered enough in silence and struggled with things that he did not understand enough to not have someone who he owed nothing hold a secret grudge against him.

I think it was then that I realized that I, Liam Martin, loved Tyler Lockwood.

It was a bittersweet realization, knowing that I could only look on and support him from the outside and never be on the inside. It stung like a bee sting, but I was okay with that. I would just have to do my best to protect the guy from afar because that was the best I could do.

So deep in my own thoughts, my own childish inner turmoil, was I that I had barely noticed as a lone figure began to walk solemnly to the end of the dock far to my right. Finally coming from my reprieve, I looked over the short distance and at the shadow of the man and the dock that was barely illuminated by the moon high above. They were but shadows.

Ready to call it a night, I stretched and turned to leave when I stopped just short as the sound of the voice came whisperering over the surface of the trickling water.

"Here's to the son of Mayor Lockwood." The voice said, slurred ever so slightly, "He was a joke."

If the voice had not have been coming from Tyler Lockwood himself I probably would have cursed the dock to collapse under his feet. Again my heart sank for the second time that night, but this time it was with a different kind of sadness. Tyler didn't know I was here or that anyone had heard him as he tipped back his bottle upon cheersing it at the moon. Chugging what remained, the boy looked to the bottle and then hurled it into the lake like it had somehow offended him.

I had made up my mind without realizing it and my feet were guiding me to the trouble jock.

Tyler stood there upon the dock, still, except for the occasional sway due to his alcohol intake and I looked around but there was no traces of the girl who had just been all over him. How long had I stood there wrapped up in my own little drama? Had it really been so long that they were finished or had she spurned him and now he was beating himself up?

I could not have been further from the truth.

Slowly I made my way onto the dock. It was made from fine wood, the best that money could buy like all things thing Lockwood's owned. The lanterns were all extinguished, however, giving it that horror movie vibe. I fully expected Jason to jump up and snatch my soul out of my body at any given moment I will have you know. It stands a testament to my affection for the the boy at the end of the dock that I continued on.

I should apply for sainthood, I tell you.

Even though I did my best to keep quiet it seemed that my presence was detected. Only a few steps behind him, I could see the black v neck he wore paired with cargo shorts and bare feet in the moonlight. This was his land after all, of course he would feel comfortable running around barefoot.

"Liam?" He asked, not even turning around.

My heart did about six thousand of those flips I described earlier.

"Yeah, it's me."

He hummed, swaying gently and then decided to sit and put his feet into the water. Confused, I sniffed at myself, wondering how the he could have detected me. Shrugging it off, I decided to take off my flip flops and join him.

"You alright."

He laughed, "Define alright, Martin."

I paused, considering his words for a firm no, "I could leave if you want."

Silently, he shook his head and I placed my own feet into the water as I sat at his side, careful not to get too close. The silence stretched on between us as he and I looked out at the water but eventually the pull to look at him became too much.

I stole a glance out the side of my eye and what I saw took my breath away. Tyler was sitting with his eyes closed as the moon was just perfectly set in the right place to cast an ethereal glow around him. It was one of those moments you wished that a camera could capture but it was physically impossible.

His lips were outlined, full and pressed pensively with his head upturned into the sky. It was like he was bathing in the velvet moonlight that cascaded around him. His dark lashes fluttered a little, but he did not open his eyes. As he released a sigh and I noticed the corner of his lips tugging at a little smirk and I also realized that I was very much staring.

"I got something on my face?" He asked, still keeping his eyes closed.

My heart shot into my throat and I looked away at once, "I—uh, no. Sorry."

He laughed again, a deep, hearty sound that was genuine, "You don't have to apologize to me. It isn't like it's the first time I've caught you looking."

I faltered.

Staring at him again with wide, panicked eyes, I willed myself to speak but all that came to mind was a steady stream of 'oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit'. He had noticed all of my stolen glances at him? Here I was thinking that I was slick as hell with all of those looks. Or maybe I just thought that he didn't notice me at all enough to really care.

His smile grew and laughter spilled from his lips as if he could see my face.

"I—," honestly the lamest attempt at speech in my life.

"Lighten up, Li." He grinned and finally opened his eyes.

My heart melted at the sight. As he grinned up at the sky, the moon danced in the reflection of his dark eyes and I swear on everything in me it was the closest I have ever came to seeing something so beautiful it hurt. Be it that he was a creature bound by the moon, albeit uncurse, or whatever, in this light he had never seemed more handsome.

He stole my breath away.

"I notice more than you think."

It was as if he had heard my very thoughts but all I could do was sputter and finally look forward to bury my face in my hands. If it had not have been as dark as it was my face would have been visibly as red as a fire truck. I rubbed at it, trying to pull down the embarrassment.

"Well, I notice things, too, Tyler." I said at last finding my voice, but speaking into my hands.

He was silent for a moment but when he spoke I could feel him looking at me, "Like what?"

Tyler was challenging me. He was daring me to say something that no one else would. The truth of the guy was that he simply did not think that anyone saw him for anything more than a wild, fun loving party animal who had not a care in the world. He thought, barring Matt, that no one looked at a single thing but what he wanted them to.

He was wrong.

I sat up a little straighter, meeting his gaze and even though my throat threatened to seize up I spoke clearly, "Like the fact that you're not a joke."

Considering me, he then looked away as he pulled his feet from the water and rose back onto his feet. A hand tossed his already messy locks and he looked straight at the moon with his back to me.

"You're wrong."

The words rang in my ears with such a finality that it hurt.

He truly believed that he was nothing more than a joke.

"Ty." I whispered, pushing to my own feet and standing just behind him.

He kept his back to me and when he spoke it was a whisper, "Liam, you don't know. You think that I am this great guy and I see it in the way you look at me and it feels good that you think that of me. But you don't know the horrible person I am. You don't know how angry I am all the time… you don't know the darkness. If you got too close you would see that; everyone would."

The doors that the male hid behind had cracked open and now I could see the weight of the world pressing at his shoulders. The pressure of living up to the image of being the son of the Mayor, of being that perfect guy he was expected to be to keep his father's polling numbers up, it all suddenly weighed on him and it broke my heart to see behind that facade that he felt compelled to uphold.

Again I felt that pull that had lead me to the dock and to him.

My hand moved forward, clasping him at the elbow and I gently turned him to face me as I met him halfway. His eyes were closed again, but he turned to me as if he were too weak in his confession to fight back.

Whatever I had done, whatever the fates had in store, however they had managed to get me behind those walls that he hid so deeply behind, I was not about to waste the moment hiding behind my own walls. This was the time for truth and if I was rejected then so be it but he would know that this was not what I saw when I saw him.

Every bit of strength and courage was shored up, using the liquid courage I had consumed to push me just enough to excuse speaking the words that came thereafter.

"But, behind that rage is something more, Tyler Lockwood. You protect those that you love with an integrity that is like nothing I have ever seen. You have a loyalty that is the purest thing I have ever seen, and more than your father deserves. You fight for what you want with a strength that I can't fathom and you carry the weight of the world like a born leader."

I paused, looking upon his face and shaking my head that someone so brilliant could loathe themself so, "Tyler, you're the most amazing person I have ever met and if you don't see it then I will be here to remind you. Everyday. You're so much more than what this little town sees. So much more than you even see, and even though I can never have you, you deserve happiness."

The silence fell upon his again and slowly his eyes opened to look down at me. My heart pounded in my ears and I could have sworn that he could hear the sound. I took a breath as our eyes connected but I was prepared for whatever would come next as my hand dropped from his elbow and back to my side.

There was a rush in being so raw and real with him, an panicked sort of freedom that came with a mixed bag of relief and fear. Whatever happened next I was prepared for rejection above all else… but I had no way of ever preparing for what came next.

Slowly his hand rose to cup my jaw with a delicate touch. He kept his gaze on me, searching my eyes as if he had never properly seen me til this moment. His lips parted as if to speak but he remained silent as my hand moved to grasp his wrist gently, not understanding the full extent of what was developing within the male before me.

If I had not been so caught up in my own drama maybe I would have seen the longing there in his eyes. Maybe I would have noticed the subtle signs in the past of what was to come, but no one sees the love of their life coming and no one expects that person to feel what they feel back no matter who they are. Now, in this moment I was young and I was dumb and I was afraid of the rejection too much to see that was not what was happening.

"Liam," he whispered and I closed my eyes, prepared for the letdown no matter the fact he was cupping my jaw. "You're wrong."

Eyes snapped open again and I looked up at him, prepared to argue if need be but what I saw in his eyes gave me pause before I spoke. I could not figure out what he was truly saying to me, I couldn't get past my own self doubt to see the complexity of the simple words that left his lips.

"I am not."

Shaking his head, he was smiling like a man with a secret as he whispered to me, "Yes, you are, because I don't think there is any version of my happiness without you anymore, Liam Martin."

Realization swept over me with the same speed and intensity as the male that leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. Soft, supple lips were now slotted with my own and I felt a depth that connected us more than just physically. My heart pounded, mind swearing this was a dream, and my body simply molded to his own as our lips moved together in a slow dance that I wished never to end. He was impulsive in every act of his life, even this one, one that should have been hard for any male fearing the wrath of a town and a father that wanted him to be one thing when he was another.

Tyler had always faced everything so fearlessly, it shouldn't have surprised me that he faced this just the same. He embraced me with every ounce of emotion and there was not a hope inside of me of me not offering him the same in return.

It may be cliche but I saw fireworks when his lips met my own. The kiss was like nothing I had ever experienced and never would again without him. He may have been my first kiss but I felt it in my bones, like we were fated, something that pulled us together and I somehow I found myself in his strong embrace.

His grip was firm, wrapping me up and holding me to him despite the fact that my legs had turned to jelly. My own hand slipped into his silky locks, threading through them and gripping just barely as the other cupped his jaw and I tried to rise up on my tiptoes to get more of him.

Sensing this, he chuckled against my lips.

Gently breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead against my own. When his eyes opened to look upon me it was as if for the first time the weight he bore had lifted. He was there, in the moment with me, despite what consequences it might bring. He was living in the fairy tale just as I was.

"Stay with me tonight?" He asked, his voice husky.

I bit my lip nervously, eyes cast to the distance where the others were no doubt sleeping or whatever else. My instincts screamed at me to protect him even at the cost of my own needs and hormones.

"What about the others?"

He shook his head, looking at me as if no one mattered right now. There was something sobering about having the guy of your dreams look at you that way. A gentle finger turned my attention back to him and I looked him in the eyes as my heart did that flippy thing.

"We'll stay in the mansion. Just stay with me. Please?"

Strong hands were now cupping my face as he was genuinely asking me to stay with him but even in the way he said it I could tell that he had never asked this. Not with this much depth and meaning behind it. This was Tyler being the most vulnerable he had ever been in front of me. I could see it in his eyes that he needed me, and that was something that I simply could not dream to turn my back on.

"For you? Anything." I murmured.

He grinned then, taking my hand in his own but not before giving me one final kiss. Sweeping me away, we found our way through the dark of the woods and he lead me into his house. We moved up the backstairs and without a single soul in sight we stole away into his room.

We kissed like the sun would never rise. Rolling around in his bed together, savoring each touch, each brush of the other's lips. My heart had never felt so full. He was a gentlemen, too, despite his reputation, not pressuring me to do anything as we talked and kissed and talked some more. He confessed the truth that I was blind to. Tyler had never ignored my existence, but instead, had been looking the entire time. From afar and with no one to confide in he had harbored his growing feelings but being someone who never questioned the purity of his emotions, he did not fight them. That did not mean that he was not afraid, though he tried to assure me otherwise, but with Tyler he always dove in head first, he always acted without thinking which was something I envied about him so much.

Hours passed and as the moon slipped into the horizon and the sun swept away the dark, I watched with an overflowing of affection as Tyler began to slip off to sleep. He looked at peace as I brushed his mess of hair from his forehead and kissed it. If this was truly a dream I hoped never to wake up. With one last look down at him, I began to move to the edge of the bed.

Gently, I felt him grasp me as he murmured sleepily, "Please don't go."

My heart heaved with the weight of such powerful words leaving his lips. Scooting back onto the bed, I rested beside him and placed a kiss to his lips one more time before moving my lips to his ear.

"I'll never leave you, Tyler," I whispered, "Just look for me in the moonlight."

He smiled, a sleepy smile before he slipped fully into unconsciousness and I wondered if it were possible to love someone so much. Making sure he was completely asleep I gently got from the bed and made my way out of the house.

The hour was early and I knew that the others would be asleep for a while yet as the shimmering dewy first light was cast upon all of Mystic Falls. Even now some of the others were just now laying down for sleep, paying me no mind as I made my way back to my tent.

I peeked into the tent of Caroline and Bonnie, noticing the blonde to still be gone and decided to slip in. Laying beside Bonnie, she slowly opened her eyes and then covered me up like the mother hen she was.

"You alright, Li?" She asked, her voice cracking as we cuddled together.

"Mhm."

Her eyes opened a little more at the dreamy look on my face and she smiled, "Have a good night?"

Eyes upon the roof of the domed tent, I nodded, "The best of my life."


	2. ¿Sueno?

¿Señuo?

My dreams, as you might imagine, were filled with nothing but Tyler.

Images of the night we spent together raced together and blurred with others that my mind conjured but as I was stirred from my sleep I found that only one seemed to resist the inevitable fade of consciousness.

It had started out simple enough; me heading home from school. Watching from outside of my body I could clearly tell that I was about twelve years old. The loose, unstyled way in which my dirty blonde hair hung down in my eyes was evidence enough, but furthermore upon my shoulder was the white and black backpack that I had wore back then… the backpack, I might add, that had mysteriously vanished.

Not important.

When I hopped down from the school bus, feet connecting with the pavement, I could see in my body a sense of dread. Chewing at the inside of my cheek, my hands fidgeted at the straps of my backpack and for one long second I thought I was about to hop back onto the bus and go to the next stop. My dream self seemed to decide that this was not the best option and with one forlorn look over my shoulder, I headed towards the two story house I called home.

For every passerby I was sure that my home fit in amongst the colonial style homes, with their Greek columns and Victorian windows. Each house on the block looked like it was straight out of Lady and the Tramp, and mine was no different. Inside was just as nice, furnished with only the best as my mother did not spare any expense despite the fact that she never had company.

And for all it's beauty I hated everything.

This house was my prison.

Turning the handle sometimes felt akin to turning the lock on my own prison cell and stepping inside felt like confessing to crimes that I had not committed. Once inside I could have listed any number of nightmares that I had been subjected to by the hands of my own mother. The foyer where I was backhanded for telling my mother I wanted to play with my friends and not study spells. The living room where I was forced to summon a demon with my own blood to prove that I was advancing the way she deemed fit. The dining room where my mother had spelled me to not be able to tell my grandmother the horrors that her daughter subjected me to when I had threatened to do just that.

Sometimes, when I sat in the living room, I could still feel the residual energy from that spell used for the summoning. It made my wrists throb where the beast had slashed at me for payment, and if not for magic I would have had physical scars… all over my body.

Denise Garwin, my mother, was obsessed with my advancement, always pushing, always forcing, willing me to be shaped into whatever she had in her mind. Over the years since leaving Beacon Hills I had grown to hate my magic, trying to ignore and suppress it until it began to violently lash out at times. It was not until my grandmother had told me how dangerous that was that I finally gave into my mother's wishes.

I sensed in this dream that my mother was home. Not that she worked or anything, but sometimes she would be out doing whatever she would do; I liked to imagine that she was sucking the lives out of children and boiling their bones. It certainly fit her criminal profile.

As I stepped into the foyer I heard her clear her throat from the living room; a sound that made my skin crawl. Swallowing thickly, my feet lead me round the corner to spy her lounging on the sofa with a glass of wine and what could only be the latest of grimoires she had procured. Internally I groaned, knowing that I would be forced to learn and attempt the hardest of spells within the pages.

"Come here, child." She intoned, sounding as haughty as ever.

Her blonde hair was pulled up and styled with a clasp atop her head and as I rounded the couch I could see that she was in an expensive evening gown, legs crossed so I could just barely see a pair of stiletto heels.

Was she going somewhere, you ask?

No.

This was literally how she dressed every single day.

'Dress to impress, for you never know who you might meet,' she always told me. Which was probably the most decent bit of advice, although neurotic, that she had ever given me. Compare that to 'Werewolves are swine meant to lick the feet of witches' and it was downright shining as far as advice went.

"Yes, mother?"

Her piercing blue eyes cast up to gaze upon me, assessing, "Drop the tone, we mustn't speak to our mothers in such a way. After all, I bore you into this world."

This was something that always made me roll my eyes without fail and in the dream it had the exact same affect. She spoke of her giving birth to me as if she had done me a favor… when in fact the woman orchestrated every single event leading up to my birth down to the very day she had me. She was obsessed with being the one to give birth to the 'witch prince', a title that I still did not fully understand.

She snapped her fingers at me as I rolled my eyes and I felt my body stiffen.

Literally.

Her magic held me in place and as casual as if she had not used magic at all, she stood up and brandished the book at me. If I could have I would have flinched away but my mother was strong. Very strong.

"I haven't the time for your antics today, Liam Gabriel Martin, so you will listen and listen well. Got it?" Pausing, she waited as if I could reply (which I assure you I could not, I was completely frozen), "Now, you will learn this spell and be ready to do it by the next full moon."

Silence fell as my baby blue eyes moved from the pages she was holding open for me to see and back to her face. Seeming to realize that I could not actually respond to her she snapped her fingers again and then thrust the book into my arms before going back to her wine.

"But the full moon is in two nights." I mumbled, looking down at it.

Waving me off, she took her seat and I looked over what this spell was exactly. My Latin was not as good as it should have been, and not for a lack of understanding, but because I was stubborn in doing anything my mother wanted me to do. Least when I lived near Lydia she made learning Latin fun.

Several minutes passed and I watched a gradual transformation upon my features. At first I was frustrated, but slightly curious, but all of that changed as slowly my face turned from horror and then to disgust. Eyes shot up from the book and I looked at the woman I called mother as if she were a monster as I slammed the book closed on the coffee table.

"This spell calls for _killing_ a _human_!" I spat in outrage.

And you know what she did?

She shrugged.

"Is there a point?"

I gaped, silent for a minute before speaking, "The point is _killing_ an _innocent_ , mother!"

After finishing the rest of her flute, she rolled her eyes at me, "No human is innocent, they are all filthy, murdering—"

"Mom! Not all humans are witch hunters! You can't just go around killing people!" My face had turned red with righteous fury. "I am not doing this."

Her eyes narrowed then, into slits, looking like a dangerous snake about to devour its prey. Rising slowly back to her feet, she turned fully towards me, chin tipped up as if she were royalty.

"Come again?"

I did not falter, "I won't do it. I refuse."

In an instant she moved to snap her fingers, but just as quick my eyes blazed with an ethereal sapphire aura that shown brightly in the gloom of the drawn curtains. I could almost feel her magic refracting off of some invisible force as my will solidified into a some sort of unspoken spell around me.

"I. Said. _NO_!"

There was a snap inside of me, like a damn breaking and a rush flooded my body like I had never felt. Had it been caused by standing up to my mother? I could not tell you, but in that moment of defense of someone else I felt stronger than ever.

Even my voice hummed with power, and as the final word was shouted at her that barrier seemed to have been shoved outward. Everything was forced back in its wake; my mother, the furniture, everything. Mother stumbled back, looking terrified for the first time I could ever remember seeing her.

"Liam—," she gasped, reaching out towards me, but I shrunk back.

My eyes were still blazing that sapphire, glowing just as fiercely as any werewolf I had ever seen. She tried to reach for me again, but I moved away, pressing towards the door only to feel myself yanked back. Her fingers knotted in my hair as the other hand gripped onto the material of my backpack, and she whispered words into my ear.

"You think that you can defy me? I own you, sweet heart. You belong to me."

The words made my stomach curl in disgust, churning so hard that I barely acknowledge the pinching pain at the back of my head from her gripping my hair so hard. I slung my head, almost head butting her in the process and she released her grip. Suddenly I could feel things around me, as if they were an extension of myself, a limited range that my mind could feel and that included my mother.

Not knowing how I knew what to do, I pushed with everything I had in me, my mind forcing her away from me so hard that my backpack split down the middle. Books and papers scattered everywhere as my mother was sent toppling over the coffee table and into the fire place.

I knew by simply saying the word 'burn' I could have lit her on fire and ended this all for myself, but the same voice that was screaming out that the spell was wrong kept my voice at bay. Instead, I went out the front door, and ran. Ran away from her and that house of horrors. Ran away from the murderous feeling in my gut. Ran away from it all.

Watching, my younger counterpart ran on. For miles. Not stopping as the pavement gave way to the woods. Not stopping when my muscles screamed at me to stop. Not even stopping when the sweat dripping from my brow was soaking the neck of my shirt through.

Finally the dream version of me faltered to a stop, panting and hands on his knees. Or my knees. However you want to look at it, I mean the dude is me. So confusing. Anyways, I stopped, panting and doubled over and it was only when the blood stopped rushing in my ears that I realized that I could hear and sense water.

Yes I mean literally sense. I am a witch, nature is our jam.

Taking in one final calming breath, I looked up to the source and found myself at the very same lake that I was camping at. Somehow I had ran right onto the Lockwood's land, only, this version of me did not quite know this yet. It wasn't until I heard a familiar voice calling out to me that I realized where I was.

"Hey! Who's that out there." The voice called as he got closer, leaves crunching under each step he took until none other than a younger Tyler Lockwood was standing in front of me.

Same as always I felt that pull towards him, like gravity towing me in, but just like always I resisted it. Blushing on sight, I rubbed at the back of my neck and then waved a hand to show that I was not an invader or armed.

"I— uh, it's Liam, Liam Martin."

His nose crinkled, not in a way like he did not know who I was, but more that he was wondering why I was way out here, "Liam? Is Caroline with you?"

A natural assumption, but for some reason it irked me, "Nope, just me."

"Hmm," he responded, now standing before me in what I could only assume as his practice attire from football. He gazed at me for a long while as if he were figuring me out, a gaze that had my face turning even more red.

"You okay, man?" He asked at last.

"Me?" Yeah, because someone else was out here that he could be talking to. So dumb. "I— yeah, just… went for a run?"

Tyler considered that for a moment and then nodded.

"I go for those pretty often, myself." Taking a step towards the lake, he bent down, picked up a rock and hurled it so far it splashed into the water, "Campaign season."

Jutting his head behind him, I looked and saw far in the distance that the Lockwood mansion was peeking out through the trees. Man, I really had gone pretty far. The dream version of myself realized what he must have been referring to, sensing that I was having parental problems. Was it that obvious?

An apologetic look crossed my features as he looked back at me. He seemed to sense that it was not just for his situation but my own as well. As always I could not seem to find my voice when I was around him, it was like I was locked up, but also Tyler seemed to read me without saying a word.

"By the way," he said, turning back to fix me with those dark eyes, "I have been meaning to thank you for the save last semester. If you had not helped me with that report on the periodic elements it would have been an early campaign season for me, if you get my meaning."

Frowning, I looked at his house and felt the urge to go give his dad a piece of my mind. Even back then I knew about Tyler's dad, how brutal the man was in private even though he would appear to be ever the gentlemen in public.

"It really was no big, Ty— I mean, Tyler."

He laughed, "Ty is fine. I mean, we're friends right?"

Friends… Wow, he considered me a friend?

"Yeah, of course." I said, wishing that my face would stop looking like a damn tomato, "If you ever need help again you know who to ask."

"I sure do. Got my first 'A' on that paper." Chuckling he jutted his thumb over his shoulder, "My old man nearly crapped himself."

At this I laughed, shaking my head as I felt a little more light around him.

"And if you ever need a place to run to." He said, letting the rest of the sentence trail off.

I smiled, thankfully and nodded.

The dream faded as Tyler began to talk further, shifting into more recent events until the voice of Caroline was rousing me. Even as my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, I could still see that blonde head of my best friend sat between us looking particularly cozy.

The second that Bonnie and I had our eyes open she told us about her latest conquest with whatever jock oaf she disappeared with last night. Not to discredit Caroline, she was free to do as she pleased, but in my opinion she was better than most of the guys she ended up with. My mind was barely focused on her words, however, drifting back to the dream.

It felt like a memory, in all honesty. I could still feel the fatigue of that dream version of me after that long run and then the relief and awe all at once as Tyler swept into sight. But that couldn't have been a memory, because Tyler and I had never really talked before high school. Sure, a few times here and there amongst other friends, but I would know if the guy of my dreams and I had shared a private conversation in the very place that I was camped out with my best friends.

But if there was no way that it could be a memory why did it keep nagging at me the way it was? Was it the fact that the bag splitting open explained a lot about why I had been forced to go without a backpack for a good chunk of the year? Or maybe it was the fact that the more I thought about it the more I couldn't not seem to remember the first time my eyes had turned sapphire like that when using magic, or the first time that I had used my telekinesis for that matter.

The more that I tried to remember it the more out of reach it seemed, the more foggy it got… all except for the dream. But it was a dream. Right? Just something that had stemmed from having spent such an amazing, almost too good to be true night with Tyler.

Thinking about that woke me up a little more, not knowing how exactly I could know that last night was a reality and not a dream to cope with being in love with someone so out of reach. Even laying here next to Bonnie was not really enough proof, I could have just made that apart of my dream.

It was not until I brought my wrist to my nose that I believed it to be real, smelling his cologne there. I knew myself well enough to know that I would wake up and freak out like this, I mean I had spent years in my own head, after all. As I left Tyler laying there asleep in his bed I had sprayed just a little of his cologne on me… a token of one of the best nights of my life.

Smiling, I pulled my blanket up a little higher so that Caroline could not see that I was probably glowing like some damn loon right now. Luckily she was going on and on about her night, but I did feel Bonnie's eyes peering at me suspiciously. She was always the more perceptive person of when I was hiding things. In fact she figured out I liked Tyler long before I admitted it, even when Caroline had no clue.

I avoided her eye, keeping mine on Caroline, but my mind was still tugging at the details of that dream. Fingers moved to the back of my head, still feeling the bite of my mother's nails against my scalp. Had she ever laid hands on me like that? Sure she had popped me in the mouth as per what I remembered in the dream, but she had never so violently grabbed me in a manner that felt like such an assault.

My smile was fading into a frown, beginning to doubt just what I remembered and what I did not. Deciding that I was not going to let a dream of something that clearly never happened affect me, I sat up and settled myself in front of Caroline to be a good, fully invested friend. It was the least that I could do.


	3. My Father's Son

My Father's Son

The day leading up to the lock-in had been exhausting.

"Tyler, you have to keep up appearances. Even when you're hooligan friends are drinking on our land." Carol Lockwood, my mother, said as my father peered on.

I heaved a sigh.

Most of the time I couldn't have told you which was worse: pretending that everything was okay at school, or pretending that everything was okay at home. At school I was expected to be this ladies man, cocky jock that could say and do anything I wanted and get away with it. I could get away with it, it was true, but sometimes it felt like a box that I was not allowed to branch out of… especially when he was around.

Don't ask who he is, we will get to that later. Patience.

At home, I was expected to be the dutiful son of the mayor. Shake babies and kiss hands, or however it goes. My father acted like all year around it was campaign season, except actual campaign season which was six times worse. My parents acted like everything I said and did was wrong, that just by breathing I would lose him the next election. My grades had to be up, because voters cared about what the son of the mayor did in history class. My performance on the football field had to be peak, because the voters cared about what the son of the mayor did on the football field.

I had once smarted off to my dad asking him who was running for office, me or him… that had gotten me a slap straight to the face.

My smart mouth didn't just get me in trouble with my friends.

Another night of pretending like I was banging some hot chick and not nursing the bruise on my face followed that.

If you asked me why I lied to Matt, my best friend, even when he knew the truth, I wouldn't have been able to give you a real answer other than guilt. Matt Donovan had so much on his plate as it was. His mother was never home, never paid the bills, and when she was home she was drunk and Matt was having to be the adult. Being rich and complaining about my abusive father while his mother was a drunken deadbeat felt… wrong. Especially when Matt was taking care of his little sister on top of everything and dealing with Elena Gilbert drama 24/7.

Matt even took care of me.

He took care of everyone.

As I stood in the lavish kitchen of my home, watching my mom play Mayor's wife and drone on about the ways I was expected to act tonight I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. It was always the same speech. The same expectations. The same thing over and over again. It was exhausting.

On nights like tonight it was hard not to feel the anger boiling beneath my skin. The pressure built up to a crescendo, bubbling just below the surface and making me want to snap at everyone and everything. It was like a pressure on my entire body, pressing me down, demanding that I lash out but I wasn't allowed to do that. No matter how many slaps to the face I got, no matter how many things pissed me off I was supposed to keep it all in.

The full moon rose high that night and already people were filing in and setting up their tents. Caroline Forbes didn't need an invitation from anyone once she was given permission for an event, so I stayed up in my room watching as everyone set up to have a good night.

Funny how they judged me for being the rich kid, or the dumb jock, or the hot head, or the player, but when it came time to take advantage of my families money or power they were all for it. It made my skin crawl with disgust, and more than a little resentment.

If it wasn't for an event Caroline ignored me, like I was trouble that she couldn't be bothered with. The Sheriff's daughter playing her role of being the good girl, but it was just a role like I played for my parents. I saw her wild and free at parties, and I had called her out on it more than once. That's probably why she resented me, I suppose. The truth hurts. But for as much as I see her for who she is, she didnt see me.

The day she came skipping up to me, asking me about the lock in and whether my parents had green lit it, I had rolled my eyes in annoyance. Of course they had green lit it, because if they didn't then they couldn't control me and what I was doing with who I was doing it with.

Bonnie Bennett and their friend Liam Martin had been there too, stuck to her side like they were the nicer version of those Mean Girls chicks. Bonnie truly was nice, that wasn't sarcasm, she never said or did anything to me that was out of line and she was always kind even when she didn't need to be. Too kind, sometimes.

Was she playing a role like the rest of us?

The only one here that I didn't believe was playing any kind of role was that Liam kid, and frankly that pissed me off sometimes. He was authentically himself, coming out to the entire school of small town hicks like our opinion doesn't matter. He tried out for the cheerleading squad like our opinion doesn't matter, and he walked the halls of the school like he belonged there just by simply being who he was.

Liam had always been that way, since the day he moved here when we were so little. That kid knew exactly who he was while we were all still trying to figure shit out. He didn't think I saw him, because that was my role. The biggest, baddest jock on the football team wasnt supposed to see the gay cheerleading boy unless it was to make fun of him, right? Or bi, or whatever.

Another fucking stereotype I was supposed to live by.

"That boy," my mother had said the day Liam made the cheerleading squad, "You are not to bully him, Tyler Lockwood. You hear me? That's beneath you."

"That is beneath this family." My father corrected her, adding, "But you are not to be seen alone with him. Last thing we need is the town thinking that you are some sort of—" he struggled for a word, seeming uncomfortable by whatever was in his head, "Well, you know what I mean."

My nose crinkled in slight disgust, "Dad, he's gay. Get over it. You cant catch being gay."

A warning look was given to my sass, "No, you can't, boy, but you can catch rumors that will affect my status in this town and you are to do as you are told. Do you understand?"

Rage. Blind rage. I wanted to deck him and burn this whole fucking town to the ground on instinct every single time he called me 'boy'. He knew it pissed me off and sometimes I think he did it just to see if I would stand up and hit him. A part of me wondered if he got off on the idea of his son standing up to him.

"I understand." I said, keeping my voice barely even.

My mother had looked at us both like a minefield that she was politely trying to avoid stepping in. It probably scared her, the idea of the men she loved most in the world coming to blows, and she probably knew that it would come one day… especially if he kept hitting me in the face.

I couldn't tell you why I had the instinct to stand up for Liam, especially when I barely knew him. The kid had just came in and without trying made himself the center of attention. He wasn't a founding family member or from the town and everyone talked to him as if he were. He was best friends with the most popular girls in school, except for Elena who he seemed to hate (which amused me), and he was there at all the parties. Not even little Jeremy Gilbert pulled that off.

Did I notice his eyes on me any time I was near? Yes. I always did. Always. To the point that I wanted to talk to him so much more than I was willing to admit. I felt drawn towards the guy from the day we met, but it wasn't cool or allowed for me to be as close to the guy as I would have liked to be.

I didn't feel it was safe for Liam to be close to me, either.

That feeling was irrational, but it was an instinct. I felt the warning in my father's words and I knew what the man was capable of. If I befriended Liam and he thought something was going on that shouldn't be, or even if he found out that we were hanging out, my dad would use his power to remove the problem at all costs. As jealous as I was of Liam being his authentic self I didn't want to compromise that just by being who I was. So I stayed away as best I could.

Sacrifice who you are for your father's campaign.

Sacrifice being friends for your father's campaign.

Sacrifice everything for your father's campaign.

Don't you dare complain about your privilege.

Don't burden your friends who have it worse that you are.

Never let anyone too close to see the truth.

On and on and on.

By the time I deemed it necessary to show my face at the lock in the bonfire was going and everyone was already getting drunk. Me? I had killed an entire flask and was warmly buzzed as I cut to the front of the line, snatching a red solo cup out of someone's hand and filled up with foaming liquid.

What? My land, my family's money, plus my bad mood equals I am not waiting in line.

No one complained.

Standing right there at the front of the line I downed that beer and then filled up another and left everyone as they were with a few shifty glances in my direction. Finding Matt I threw my arm around him and grinned like I was the life of the party.

"Hey Matty boy," my voice was slightly teasing, "What did I miss? Anyone shown their titties yet?"

Matt, the sweet guy that he was, choked on his beer and cleared his throat, "No, Tyler, damn." He shook his head, but I could see that he wanted to laugh, "This is your party, where have you been?"

I took a sip an excuse to come up with an excuse, "Oh, you know, fashionably late as always. This isn't my party, either, this is Miss Mystic's party. I am just the bank."

He heard the resentment in my voice and that was very clear as he looked over to Caroline who was dancing with Liam and Bonnie, having the time of their lives. I rolled my eyes. Matt tore my attention back to him as he stepped between Elena and I and blatantly searched my face for marks. I shied away, but he got the point, dad hadn't hit me… this time.

The hum of the alcohol in my system was making it a little easier to fall into the beat of the party. It made all the issues I was dealing with seem a little smaller, it made pretending a little easier, and smiling almost as easy as breathing.

There was still worry in Matt's bright blue eyes as he moved back to my side, silently deeming me party fit, but he didn't say anything. Matt knew what it was to suffer in silence. We were men, we didn't complain, we did not show emotion.

Hold it in, Tyler.

Don't cry, Matthew.

Be a man, Tyler.

Be tough, Matthew.

Don't be a pussy, Tyler.

It's just life, Matthew.

Yeah, it was just life. But we were also just fucking kids trying to exist. When was the world going to acknowledge that? When were the people in our lives going to remember that we had struggles, too? Being men did not magically make it easier. Being men did not stop the hurt, or the loneliness, or the worry. Why were our parents so selfish?

Another beer down and those thoughts were pushed where they belonged; to the back of my mind. I drank a few more and then as Elena and Matt began their repetitive fighting, I rolled my eyes and felt my tongue getting a little looser than normal.

"Matt, this isnt working," Elena whined.

That's really all she did.

I was triggered, aiming all of my resentment and anger at her, "Hey, Elena, why don't you stop being a bitch for once? My boy Matt deserves better, and honestly, you know it."

Matt looked horrified.

Elena looked like I slapped her in the face.

I shrugged my shoulders and walked away with my hands up in surrender, beer sloshing out a little. Was what I said right? Yes. But I also knew that I was aiming my pent up rage in the wrong direction and that brought about a sense of shame. I had probably made things worse for Matt, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I just didn't get it with those two, I didn't get why she was always complaining like Matt was some beast she couldn't possibly be attracted to. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and an all American athlete with no ego whatsoever and was kind as hell to everyone. Wasn't that a panty dropper? Or did Elena need some fucked up masochist to abuse her in order to make her wet? I didn't get the girl.

The shame I felt was followed quickly with the need to be pressed up against someone. I had to show somehow that I was good at something, that I was right, that I was a man. Before I knew what was what and where was where the little hottie from earlier in the week was pressed up against me.

Her hips were grinding against my groin in a short little skirt and suddenly I wasn't thinking about all the drama anymore. I wasn't thinking about much to be honest except the way my pants were getting much too tight to be comfortable and then she was grabbing me by the front of my shirt and dragging me into the gloom.

Fumbling hands pressed to her supple, curvy figure, touching anything I could get at. Our mouths were on each other's, sloppy, wet, tasting of beer and as I gripped her thigh, hiking it up my hip I felt a familiar gaze upon me and suddenly that feeling of shame was back. I didn't know this girl's name. I didn't care about her. She was just another face in the masses that wanted something from me.

The tightness in my pants was going down now, and my kissing was becoming more and more distracted as I felt myself sobering up with each haphazard flick of the girls tongue against mine… okay, has she been this bad of a kisser this whole time or was it just me falling out of the mood.

She bit down on my lip, tugging almost hard enough to draw blood and I was pulling away with a grimace. Hand moved up to my lip, backing away from her and checking myself for blood.

"Damn girl, are you a vampire or something? What the hell?"

There was a look of hurt in her drunken gaze as she straighten up her skirt and stormed off, stomping her feet along the way. I had the urge to call after her that she was acting like a child but that would just exacerbate the situation. Another wash of shame crushed over me as I realized I had probably embarrassed her or something and I heaved a sigh.

There was no point in going after her, mostly because I couldn't find her if I tried in the gloom of the night. The bonfire had long since went out and little by little every drunken teen at the party was finding their way into their tents for whatever purposes they needed, be it sleep or sex.

Rubbing my hands over my face, I snagged up a beer and made my way barefoot to the dock on the lake by our land. The water swayed and sloshed gently in the night breeze as I walked to the edge of the dock and closed my eyes. So many times I found myself at the end of some party right here where I stood now, closing my eyes and feeling these exact feelings.

It was hard to pretend when you were alone, hard to dull out the noise of all the repressed feelings inside. I could pretend for others, sure, but alone with myself? How could I pretend? I knew the truth of it all. I knew what I felt, and I knew what I wanted and when I was drunk, I saw those things so much more clearly.

I rose my beer to the moon, opening my eyes and cheersing it, "Here's to the son of Mayor Lockwood. He was a joke."

I laughed bitterly, a soft sound of spite at myself and then downed the entire beer to throw it with all my strength and watch it splash far off into the lake. Monday would come and that girl would tell everyone that I made her feel like shit and people would talk about what a douche bag I was. Never mind the fact that she bit the shit out of me and I wasn't into it. That won't matter, cause I am a guy and I am wrong. Even more so because I am Tyler Lockwood.

Even if I had slept with here I would be wrong, because there was no way in hell that I was going to call her the next day or date her. So what was the right thing to have done? If I ignored her I would have been an asshole, too. Guess just by being me I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't.

My thoughts of self pity were cut into as a whiff of designer cologne was carried upon the wind. The sweet smell mixed with the summer breeze upon the lake and I found myself smiling as I closed my eyes. A single pair of footsteps sounded so quietly behind me that I would have almost doubted that I heard them but I knew who they belonged to. I knew that cologne so well that there was no doubt in my mind who was approaching me.

"Liam?" I asked, without turning around.

Even without looking at him I felt that he was startled in a way that surprised me. It was as if he was almost an extension of myself in a way that felt eerie. There was a familiarness to Liam in this moment that had me feeling a little sense of deja vu, but Liam and I had never really been alone together so why would I feel that way?

"You alright," he asked and with my eyes closed I could hear the genuine concern.

Laughing, I responded, "Define alright, Martin."

There was another pause as the sounds of the lake filled the void, but I was not uncomfortable in the silence with him. Quite the opposite.

"I could leave if you want."

The thought alone made my heart pang for some reason and I shook my head. Opening my eyes, I sat down and deposited my feet in the water. As I had hoped, Liam did the same, sitting beside me but a little too far away.

As the silence between us stretched on I found myself wondering why I hadn't done this with him sooner. There was a calming presence that came off of him that made the vibrating anger beneath my skin feel somehow soothed. Under the full moon I felt on edge and I never understood why, but for the first time I could ever remember I felt a sense of ease.

My eyes fell closed again, taking it all in and feeling the relief soothe me to the bone. I was so relaxed that even as Liam looked at me, and I sensed those eyes the second they were on me, I was unbothered. I could only imagine what the guy was thinking at my side, I must have looked stupid with my head turned like I was sunning under the moon with my eyes closed. A real drunken sight, for sure.

"I got something on my face?" I asked with a smirk, not opening my eyes.

"I— uh, no. Sorry."

He caused me to laugh because of how embarrassed he sounded, "You don't have to apologize to me. It isn't like it's the first time I've caught you looking."

My smile only grew as I revealed to him all the times that I had seen him stealing glances or even brazenly staring at me. The times in the hallways when I would be talking it up with Matt, high fiving and being the loudest on the spot and he would be gazing at me as if he saw through all the bravado. Those blue eyes that seemed to see everything and leave me wishing I knew what it was that he saw… what he saw in me.

"I—" Liam sputtered and I grinned and opened my eyes.

"Lighten up, Li."

I looked at the moon, feeling a sense of freedom under the light and by his side. In my day to day it was safe to say that I always felt weighted down by it all. The masks, the pretending, all of it, but right here and right now the shackles had somehow fallen by the wayside and I was free to just be here and be me. How was it that he could pull something like that off? Liam and I barely knew each other from anyone else in school, the basics at best, and yet he made me feel like I was my most authentic self by simply breathing.

"I notice more than you think, Li."

Fingers ruffled up my dark locks, placing my hand back down onto the wooden dock to brace myself. It was a loaded statement because I noticed too much. My father would have shamed me for the things I noticed. I noticed the way Liam made me want to stand out. He gazed at me and I wanted to be worthy of his gaze. My heart fluttered a little in a way no girl had ever made me feel but I was a guy and I wasn't supposed to feel that way.

Guys were meant to be with girls. Guys were meant to get married to girls. You are supposed to have a family and be a man and being with another man isn't being a man, it is being a fairy. Loving, or liking another man is to be feminine and be lesser than a man. It isn't the American way, or the American dream. That was for others, not those that were sons of prominent politicians and families that founded towns. No, it was shameful to even think it.

"Well, I notice things, too, Tyler." Liam said, bringing me from my thoughts.

His voice was soft, lulling me into looking upon him like a sweet siren song.

"Like what?"

When my dark eyes met those blue ones there was no denying that I was challenging him. He thought that he knew me, and I knew that he did. Liam thought that he saw everything but if he didn't truly see everything how could he look at me with such awe? There was a monster under my skin clawing to be out. The rage and hate for it all, the nastiness that spilled out, fueled by everything that willed me to be my father's son… I hated everything. It was an animalistic fury inside me that I couldn't even fathom.

I wasn't worthy of that look.

"Like the fact that you're not a joke."

Now it was my turn to feel ruffled. He had heard me, which was unexpected, but I was much better at wearing a mask of calm than Liam who wore it all on that angelic face of his. I pulled my feet from the cool water and stood up, messing my hair up in slight frustration as I fought to find the proper words to speak to Liam as I turned my back to him so that he couldn't see my face and read it like a book.

A part of me wanted him to know it all, but the other part feared losing that way that he looked at me. If he saw inside to what I really was, the hateful nature within, he would never look at me like that again. Was it selfish to want his adoration? Yes. Because I couldn't give him what he deserved and my father would see to that. But right here and now I was so blind with the way that Liam made me feel that logic did not factor in.

"You're wrong."

He was. So wrong.

"Ty." He whispered, and his voice sounded like he was hurt by the fact that I knew he was wrong.

"Liam, you don't know. You think that I am this great guy and I see it in the way you look at me. You don't know the horrible person I am. You don't know how angry I am all the time… you don't know the darkness." My words where whispered as if I was afraid that the lake might hear them and let the whole world know.

Somehow this guy had found that crack in my armor that I hid with all the bravado in the world and it was all rushing out now. I wanted to look at him and shake him and make him see that he was better than me. He deserved to be with someone who could walk through the halls of Mystic Falls High and be their most authentic self. Not adoringly looking on to the fake that I was. I had sold my lie too well because Liam thought that I was something I wasn't.

The pull to look at him was intangible but it was growing so powerful that I had to fight it with every breath I took. Like something unspoken bonded us together and willed us to be closer but we couldn't. How could we? How could someone so good be close to someone so bad.

He gently grabbed my arm and the touch made my skin sing with joy and I slowly turned as he willed me. Looking down into that face, those baby blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight as he looked so earnestly at me, I forgot everything that I was supposed to be.

"But behind that rage is something more, Tyler Lockwood."

He said my name like it was a title to be honored, it made my heart long for him.

"You protect those that you love with an integrity that is like nothing I have ever seen. You have a loyalty that is the purest thing I have ever seen, and more than your father deserves. You fight for what you want with a strength that I can't fathom and you carry the weight of the world like a born leader."

A lump formed in my throat. How did he know that I was loyal? How did he see that in me through all the bullshit that I put out there. I was in awe of this kid, this boy who had come out of nowhere and drawn me in simply by being.

"Tyler, you're the most amazing person I have ever met and if you don't see it then I will be here to remind you. Everyday. You're so much more than what this little town sees. So much more than you even see, and even though I can never have you, you deserve to find happiness."

Those words shook me to the core.

He could never have me?

No, I could never have him.

Monsters like me didn't get to be with people like him.

But the way he spoke with such strong conviction made even me believe what he was saying. It made me want to live up to those words and be someone worthy of that praise. But how could he not see that he too carried himself with an effortless grace that I could never fathom. He weathered the whispering of a small town and did not show any sense of caring about it. He was himself and he stood for what he believed in. I could never be that strong.

I was lost in awe and wonder of this slender, angelic being who had come into my life.

Without even thinking about it my hand was cupping his jaw. My eyes could look nowhere else but at that face as if I had never really seen just how much I meant to him til this moment. How could I ever doubt that he saw me for who I was, the good and the bad?

As he grasped my wrist, I feared for a moment he might push me away but he merely hung on, like an anchor and I reveled in the simple touches. Somehow, in my heart of hearts, it didn't feel like the first time we had touched this way.

"Liam," I said almost breathlessly, afraid to say the words too loud as the world might hear and beat them out of me, "You're wrong."

He opened his eyes to gaze up into my own, defiant as ever, but still soft.

"I am not."

I shook my head and smiled, "Yes you are," the words that were coming needed to be said from a place so deep within that I did not understand, "because I don't think there is any version of my happiness without you anymore, Liam Martin."

Was it the alcohol fueling this sense of aching longing so deep in my core? The words came from a place, a memory that I couldn't touch, but I knew was there. I needed him so much more than I understood but now was not the tme for understanding because as Liam began to understand my words, those soft, blonde curls blowing across his forehead with eyes full of wonder upon me, I couldn't stay away.

His full lips were soon pressed to my own and our bodies were against the other as if they were meant to be that way. It was like I had never properly kissed til this moment. The feel of Liam's soft lips brushing against my own, a soft give and take as our hands touched and sought for greater purchase on the other. Suddenly the world was melting away and I couldn't see past this moment. I couldn't see a version of my life that didn't have him with me. My heart needed Liam and as long as he would have me I would be there. My father's son could be damned, because the second I kissed Liam I was his Tyler. My heart was full… I was complete. I was at peace and that was more than I could have ever asked for


	4. The Vow

The Vow

It was a late start, to say the least, when Bonnie was shaking me to consciousness. The sunlight was blistering to the eyes as I opened them trying to blink back sleep. I would have said that I regretted staying up so late but when the memories came back, realizing what had happened, and that it was not a dream, I found myself getting up with a little more ease having suddenly forgotten my actual dream.

"Liam, Caroline said you better get your butt down to the lake before she drags you out in your sleeping bag." Bonnie was grinning as she spoke.

I laughed, shaking my head and rubbed my eyes. Telling her that I would be down in a second, she left me to quickly change into my royal blue board shorts. Opting to leave my shirt in the tent, I slipped into my flip flops and was out of the tent to a sight that almost had me falling flat on my ass.

I gasped, stumbling back, but just as quickly as I had almost fallen a strong grasp was around my arm, holding me firm and setting me on my feet with the greatest of ease. The warm gaze upon me was matched with a bemused grin as he inclined a single brow.

"Ty? You scared the crap out of me!" I said, my hands coming to his elbows to center myself.

Even though I had more than gotten my footing neither of us were showing signs of letting the other go as we gazed at each other. Tyler laughed, standing there in nothing but his black and white board shorts. Good lord he was built, abs for days and his chest, oh my god. I was literally staring at this point which was only making Tyler laugh more and at the realization I was blushing the brightest of reds.

"Gotta be more careful, Martin. I mean if you were in a horror movie you totally would have just died." He was teasing me, smiling still, and clearly unworried about anything.

Instantly, being the realist that I was, I realized the danger of what we were doing. We were both being reckless and so close to the shadow of Lockwood manor… it was beyond reckless, in all honesty. I dropped my hands, but I couldnt stop smiling at him.

"You will find that it will take more than tripping me up to get me."

Smirking, he squeezed my arms and dropped his own grasp, "Oh I am sure."

I paused as the pair of us enjoyed the laugh, "Are you not going swimming with everyone else?"

He shrugged his shoulders at which I was giving him a pressing expression.

"It depends," he said, looking me over and making me self conscious, "Are you?"

I nodded my head once, looking over his shoulder to the direction that I could hear all the others talking loudly and splashing about.

Now dont get me wrong, I was in great shape. Gymnastics, cheerleading, soccer, all of that took intense training and so I was in shape, but my body wasnt on the level of Tyler's. He was dedicated to football and keeping himself in peak condition and it showed… never mind this was the guy that I had a crush on for years and now the night after we had made out sporadically he was seeing me in very little. A guy has a right to be a little shy.

"Well, then let's go." He said, his eyes swimming back up to my own.

And I listened, falling into step with him without thinking.

We were playing a dangerous game, messing with the status quo and much as I wished that I could bring myself to voice my concerns I couldnt. Something about being with him made me reckless, wanting to throw caution to the wind and just bask in this. I had never had anything like this for myself, and call me naive but I knew, somehow, that we could face the world if we did it together.

It was fast, but it didnt feel that way to me and I could tell that he didnt either. Deep inside it felt like I had done this dance with him before, but how could I have? Tyler and I had not spent any time together before this. Not one on one, and definitely not kissing and spending the whole night pouring our hearts out to each other. Suddenly I was remembering that dream and my brows were knitting together because I also remembered how real it had felt. It had been like I was recalling a memory.

"You okay?" Tyler asked, causing me to look over and up into his eyes.

Shaken from my thoughts, I smiled and nodded, "Honestly this weekend just keeps getting better and better."

And like that the dream faded from the forefront of my consciousness. He and I joined Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, and Elena in the water, swimming and laughing together. Even in the moment of it I knew this day was special, something all of us would remember. The worries we each carried, the stresses, for the day were gone. We werent arguing over the petty things, or dealing with the relationship drama, and no one seemed to be batting an eye at the fact that Tyler and I had suddenly begun talking constantly.

A part of me had expected this to be different, for Tyler to become guarded around me, for him to avoid me, not to be waiting for me… not for him to want to stay as near to me as I wanted to stay to him. We were like magnets that had suddenly been placed just close enough to each other to snap together without question. A magnet didnt wonder why it was attracted to the other, and that was what it felt like.

The sun came and went leaving us tanned and exhausted and naturally, like all teenagers, we wanted more. The night dawned, the moon hanging high in the sea of stars, the bonfire roaring, and the solo cups were filled. We began to drink, somehow more relaxed and more in the moment than the night before. Tyler cranked the music a little louder and we raged the night away.

About three cups in, I was tossing mine into the trash and feeling a hefty buzz making me a little giddy as it always did. I turned back to the crowd of my classmates, watching as Matt and Tyler danced with Elena and Bonnie respectively. Even in the haze of it all I could tell that there was a weight that was lifted from Tyler's shoulders in the subtlest of ways. He wasnt chasing around some girl he didnt care for, or trying to present this image of himself, he was just being young, wild and free and having fun with his friends and that above all else was such a relief to see.

As all of these parties went we all began to trail off one after another until Tyler and I ended up alone together in the safety of his room. Behind his locked door we kissed, lips hot on each other's as our hands explored the canvas of the other's body. It was instantaneous, without question, our bodies tangled up with the other as we got lost in the moment and again forgot that as much danger as the students outside presented, the real danger was under the same rough as us.

The rest of the weekend went on much the same. We stole our glances, snuck off for our kisses, and forgot that on Monday things were supposed to go back to the way they were. We were living without the scope of how telling our actions were. We were living on borrowed time. Even when school started up again, suddenly Tyler and I were sitting next to each other at the table, we were falling into a rhythm that was befitting of someone who had been involved a lot longer than we had.

There were times when Tyler would cup one hand to my cheek, the other flat to the small of my back as we lay in his bed, with his deep, dreamy eyes gazing into my own, and in those times I would get a jarring sense of deja vu. Or times when he would gently brush his lips against my own as his nose brushed mine that I would feel that this had happened before. The way my heart fluttered felt all too familiar, but how could that be?

"Hey, Li," Tyler asked a few weeks after the lock in.

"Hmm?"

He smiled, his dark hair a mess as he looked over at me from his pillow, "Go on a date with me?"

For all of my pride I wish that I could have told you that I had a less cheesy reaction, but in true moony eyed first love form I bit my lip and blushed before answering his question by jumping on top of him and kissing him deeply. He kissed me back, a chuckle on his lips as he looked up at me with so much happiness and affection. A happiness that was only reflected in the way I felt inside.

There was so much to be said about the first time you know that you have fallen in love with someone. That love is without jade, without worry, so reckless that you fall into it with complete abandon. You give over to it in a way that you never give over into any other because you dont have the experiences that come after it. I like to think that Tyler and I were experiencing that together because we were both living as if we were and without fear we both plunged ahead, when there truly was so much to fear.

Making sure all of my plans were cleared for the following Saturday, I made as many excuses as I could, none harder to trick than my mother. She had demanded to know where I was going and only when I told her that I was tutoring Matt Donovan and staying the night there cause it would be late when we finished did she seem to let it go and only after I assured her Tyler wouldnt be there. It had startled me that she had asked so on the nose about Tyler, but I honestly chalked it up to the fact that she thought of werewolves, even unturned ones, as literal dogs beneath her.

There was no way she could know what was going on with us, we were being so careful.

. . .as careful as helpless, lovestruck teenagers ever are.

I left my house in shorts, a muscle shirt and flip flops to sell the lie with my backpack in tow. Every step that took me further away from home was a step that had me almost skipping away. Once out of the ever watchful gaze of my mother I was slipping into the woods and out of sight.

"Alright," I whispered, "Let's see if I can get this spell right."

I whispered in Latin, not wanting to draw attention to the woods. I could only imagine someone reporting that there was 'chanting' in the woods. It was a simple spell that I had learnt ages ago, but using magic wasnt really something I was doing every day. Each soft word that passed through me hummed with power and as I looked down to my body I literally watched as the casual clothes I was wearing were replaced by a nice pair of black jeans, expensive shoes, and a tight fitting white v neck. Simple, but still dressy enough for whatever Tyler had planned.

The spell was a success and now I was jogging back out of the woods and onto the sidewalk to continue heading to the place we had designated to meet. As the street lights came into view to the intersection by the old Wickery Bridge so did Tyler's black Escalade. He had the window rolled down, arm on the seal, gazing at me with that dazzling smile of his and within seconds he was jumping out of the car and jogging over to meet me halfway.

He was wearing a black collared polo with some of the nicest looking chinos I had ever seen. Man, he could dress. A few quick steps and I was leaping into his arms as if it had been years since we saw each other. Grinning like the fools we were, he caught me, and we kissed right there, my fingers in his hair and my heart doing those somersaults that he always made them do.

Years could have gone by as we kissed and I wouldnt have cared, but soon he was sitting me back on my feet as my hand came to cup his jaw. My blue eyes were filled with such adoration I could have cried, and then he was taking the hand that was upon his cheek into his own and leading me to his car. Opening the door for me, I got in, pulling the belt around me and buckling it into the place as he was moving back to the driver's side.

"Do you have a time you have to be back?" Tyler asked as he put the car into gear and began to drive towards Wickery Bridge.

I shook my head, "She thinks I am at Matt's helping him study."

He laughed a little hard at this, making me look at him oddly, "I told my dad Matt was helping me study."

Now I was the one laughing too hard, enjoying that our minds thought the same way. There was a voice in the back of my head, however, that hoped that neither of them called Matt because that would be a disaster, but my mom wouldnt call a human for assistance, and surely Matt was used to covering for Tyler by now. Right?

The scenery rushed by and I saw clearly that he was driving us out of Mystic Falls and already I was silently agreeing that this was smart. Outside of this town we didnt have to be this half version of ourselves. We didnt have to worry about people in our business. We didnt have to worry about bumping into every single person we knew because literally the Mystic Grill was the only place to eat in this one horse town.

Under the waning moon we drove on, hand in hand, falling into a silence that was so easy that for the first time in my life I found what was beautiful about not saying a word and yet understanding each other. The city lights came upon us bright though, dimming the twinkling stars and signaling that we were no longer in Small Town, Virginia.

Tyler drove as if he had been here many times, moving in and out of the city traffic and finally parking at the curb right in front of a quaint looking Italian restaurant. My lips blossomed into a smile at the sight wondering how he could have possibly know that was my favorite as he got out and opened my door for me. Chivalry was a side of Tyler I had not seen before, but I was not even remotely surprised by, as I climbed out with him and accepted his hand.

It was jarring, to say the least, showing our affection like this in public. One thing to be out of the closet as a person and another to be out of the closet as a couple. Sure it wasnt our friends seeing us like this, these were strangers, but there was a power in the fact that being together in the open like this didnt cause the earth to suddenly stop spinning and the world to end.

"How did you know?" I finally asked as he ushered me in the front doors.

He looked smug, "I pay attention."

He sounded so cocky, so self assured, and that right there was the Tyler I was used to.

As the hostess led us to our reserved seats I was quick to notice that she was very clearly checking Tyler out. Who could blame her, but I still found myself feeling annoyed and a little like pushing her off to the side and hosing her down. Judge me if you must. Seeming to notice this, Ty reached over, grasping my hand once again and pulling me close to his side and all of those stupid notions of jealousy were replaced by a prideful sense of reassurance: he was claiming me for all to see, even this pretty girl that his dad would have accepted before me.

"Will there be any ladies joining the two of you tonight?" The hostess asked, even though we were clearly holding hands.

Okay, rude bitch, what the hell?

I was scowling, hard, but Tyler was suave as he held up my hand and kissed the top of it and shook his head. He didnt even look at her as he made the power move to show that he was here for me and me only and I swear my heart melted into a pool. I could feel her scowling in disappointment but I suddenly didnt give a damn what she was looking at or saying.

How was he, the jock that was in the closet, so open and accepting of this all? It was so effortless and easy for him as if this were something he had thought to do long before we were doing it. Fast, that was how we were moving, and any fool could see it clearly. At least more clearly than we could. The ease with which we settled into each other in us, despite how much I adored it, was the first red flag that was raised in my mind that not all was what it seemed. But, like all others when presented with the man of their dreams I pushed those thoughts from my mind.

I had been so long in the world of the supernatural that maybe it really was causing me to see things that werent really there. Magic had taught me to look at cases of deja vu as something more, a force that was trying to tell you something that you werent quite seeing but I just didnt care.

Once the thirst trap hostess was gone and we were seated, Tyler shocked me by already having had our orders in ahead of time, not wanting to be interrupted by any waiters. He had ordered me lasagna, which was the ultimate food to me, and shocked me yet again by just how much he had been paying attention.

"Did you like break into my room and get my journal or something, Tyler Lockwood?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as the waiter sat my plate in front of me.

He was laughing, shaking his head, "Your mother is terrifying so that's a hell no."

Well, at least he was paying attention to those things too. No excuses on why we never went to my house if he knew that the woman who gave birth to me was terrifying. It probably said something that he would rather be stealing moments with me at his house with his abusive father at risk of seeing us, rather than at my house. His senses were clearly on point.

"You have no idea." I said, adding a dark chuckle.

Spearing a few of the pasta noodles in his bowl he set his eyes on mine and shrugged, "I mean, did you really think that you were the only one paying attention all these years?"

His questions sent a jolt through me, a jolt of realization.

"Wait, years?"

He smiled, nodding.

I blushed… hard.

"You are hard to miss, Martin. There is no one in the school who hasnt noticed you, but for some reason you think you are invisible. I mean you hang out with the most popular trio in the entire school and you still think that you are just the background man? Really?"

He wasnt wrong.

I tried intentionally for many reasons, despite hanging out with Caroline and Bonnie (oh and that other chick I hated. Ugh, screw Elena) to just simply be the token friend no one really paid attention. I was a witch. I had to blend. Especially with Mystic Falls' history that obviously none of them knew. But even if I allowed myself the moment to see that I wasn't invisible I would have never gathered that Tyler was paying attention to all these quirks about me.

"I— but you, you're different, Ty." I stammered.

"Why? Because you liked me before you think I liked you?"

His questions were strikingly blunt and very much on brand but I wasnt ready for it at all. Which was clear by the fact that I sat there slack jawed. Here we were again with him reminding me that I didnt see everything as clearly as I thought that I did.

"You are blind," he said, still smiling, "to just how amazing you are. You try to uplift everyone around you but you dont see that we all see that and we all love that about you. We see you, Liam, even if you dont think we do."

I bit my bottom lip as I felt a lump in my throat.

"I'm sorry. You shouldnt have to keep repeating things like this." I said, my voice revealing that lump in the way it shook.

He reached for my hand, titling his head to the side ever so faintly as he searched my eyes. "Dont be sorry. I'll repeat it as many times as you need to hear it until you remember that I saw you, too. We saw each other and we have that even if no one else sees us for who we are."

Oof, this boy was going to kill me with all these words. I leaned across the table, pressing a kiss to his lips again, and then again before I was sitting back and finally starting in on my food. The conversation following was decidedly less serious, getting caught up again in the ease of the connection we had. With dinner fished, the bill paid, the tip left, we headed out and Tyler drove us back to Mystic Falls but instead of heading to either of our houses we made our way to our spot on the pier on the Lockwood property. He gave me some shorts and a shirt to sleep in, but before releasing me to go change he was pulling out a wrapped box.

My eyes looked to it and then back to his own as we stood on the pier together. The water lapped at the edge of the shore, but all else was silent save for the sounds of the night. Gently, as if I might break it, I took the package from him but kept my gaze on his with a look of question in my eyes.

"The last few weeks— Liam, I dont think that you realize how I was feeling before." Tyler began, his voice was already wrought with emotion that was too strong to contain, "I felt lost and alone and so angry. I hated everything, I was mad at everything. No one saw me for me and no one wanted me around except to use me for what they needed— well, except Matt, but even he doesnt see me fully."

My heart was tight listening to him speak so candidly and my it ached for that boy who had felt so alone.

"Sometimes my thoughts got dark," he continued, looking down as his hands were placed over mine on the box, "Sometimes I hated myself for being so fucked up I always felt so broken. But then you came onto this dock and you spoke to me as if nothing else mattered in this world. You said things about me that no one else knew, that no one else saw and you wanted nothing from me. That means so much to me, Liam."

"Tyler—" I began to say softly but he shook his head.

"I need to get this out. There was a time when I was jealous of you and how you lived so openly and freely, coming out and just being yourself, but then I realized that you had a mask of your own. People werent seeing the full you. Since that night you have opened my eyes and showed me that I am not alone and that I am not broken. I dont need to be fixed. But I— I do need one thing… I need you." Suddenly he was looking up and into my eyes, smiling as if he was about to say something cheesy, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

I gasped, a sound so soft it was but a whisper on the wind. Would it be weird if I pinched myself just to make sure that I wasnt dreaming. My heart was hammering in my chest, my palms were sweating and I could have cried from the joy that was bursting in my chest.

"Tyler, I was yours the second we first laid eyes on each other."

In a split second his large hands were splayed on the small of my back and he was pulling me in. I dropped the present, hands cupping the back of his neck, and our lips crushed together in a kiss so deep that it almost hurt. Never could I have fathomed that I would be here in his arms making him as happy as he made me. Never could I have fathomed that we would be in exactly the same place as each other like we were right now. But I dreamed for it. I ached for it… and now my heart was sighing in the relief of it being a reality.

Lips moved slowly, savoring every soft brush of the other until we were breaking and pressing our foreheads to each other with a smile of pure giddy delight. I laughed and shook my head as a tear rolled down my cheek.

He was quick to catch it, looking concerned.

"Liam?"

I shook my head, "I just wanted this, I wanted you for so long, I never thought that I would get a chance to even be your friend let alone your boyfriend."

He was smiling now as I opened my eyes.

"And I dropped your present."

He laughed, breaking our close proximity to lean down and grab the package and hand it back to me. I took it, making sure it wasnt damage and luckily it wasn't except for a small rip in the wrapping paper.

"It's nothing major." He stated, waving it off as casual, "Just something I saw you looking at when we were watching A Nightmare on Elm Street."

I furrowed my brows and began to open it, giving him a curious smile.

"You know when your head was in my lap?"

To be fair, I was only getting Tyler to watch the movie because he had never seen it and that was a damn shame. So naturally I got a little distracted at parts and looked at my phone, sue me.

I finished opening the present, taking the top of the white box off to reveal the most stunning leather jacket. An awed gasp left my lips as I pulled it out of the box at once, eyes wide and looking to the blue material in my grasp. It was exactly the shade of blue I loved, and exactly the type of jacket I had always wanted but never had enough money at my disposal to buy. Even if I was rich I still had a spending allowance.

Instantly I remember how I had been looking at the jacket, screen shotting it and drawing hearts all around it to remind myself to get it when I could. I even think that I sent it to Caroline who said that I would look amazing in it and now here it was and all because Tyler really did pay attention to the little things.

"Oh my gosh, I love it!" I said, gasping and hugging it to my chest. "I dont care if it's summer I am wearing this every day til the day I die!"

Tyler laughed, but his eyes narrowed, "You're not allowed to die. I'll just bring you back."

"Same goes for you."

Standing there under the night lights, amongst the watchful gaze of nature, we were listening to our hearts, fully falling for the other. I knew that this was a once in a lifetime dream. Not everyone got this chance and I was going to do everything to protect it, I would do everything to protect Tyler. And so as he pulled me in for a hug, our bodies swaying together as if to a slow song that was unheard by either of us, I made a vow to the moon. I'd never give up on Tyler and I would never let anything bad happen to him. This was special and it was to be cherished. I got so much wrong in my life, so many bad hands dealt to me, and I wouldnt allow anything to take this from me and even more so I would never allow harm to come to Tyler or so help whoever trespassed this vow


End file.
